


Cruel Beauty

by HumanFly



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), The Cruel Prince Holly Black
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2019-03-12 19:03:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13553652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HumanFly/pseuds/HumanFly
Summary: After Belle leaves the Dark Castle, the story takes a different course, and the Dark One is not the only one affected, but the whole Enchanted Forest, as two worlds collide.





	Cruel Beauty

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own the characters in Once Upon a Time or The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. This fanfiction is only for entertainment purposes. As the story develops, there may be spoilers for the Cruel Prince, so if you didn't read the book and plan on doing it, it might not be wise to delve further into this work.  
> I am not a native English speaker so feel free to notify me in case of any mistakes and give me suggestions to improve my writing skills.  
> It's an honour to be able to contribute to this community of talented writers.

Rumplestiltskin entered the Evil Queen's castle. He was in no mood for dramatic gestures. He was going to make her pay for what she had done, what she had tried to do. After he had banished Belle, he suffered in silence for days. No deals, no scheming. Spinning and spinning in an endless void, trying to find himself again within the shattered pieces of his soul. He had done the right thing, he promised he would never love again until he found Bae and Belle's presence would threaten everything he had worked for in order to find his son. Still, despite being aware of Belle's innocence in all this, he was going to make Regina pay for manipulating her, for trying to take away his power. Being the main pawn in Rumplestiltskin's game would not be an advantage either. He will twist the mind of the monster he had created and, in the end, when she was under the false impression she had won the war, he would take everything from her. He would not regret it, it was a balancing act, after all, evil obliterating evil.  
As he strode in the Queen's chambers, the imposing doors opening to reveal the flawless marble floors and amethyst ceilings, he spotted the dark silhouette of Regina, standing in front of her beloved mirror, admiring herself. Her gown was revealing as usual, an attempt to emphasize her empowering beauty. Yet, it had no impact on Rumplestiltskin as he could see behind her carefully crafted image. Regina didn't seem surprised to see him. She was expecting him. Rumplestiltskin could read in her eyes that she yearned to revel in his torment, but he would not allow that. He was the Dark One and her attempt of stripping him of his power came to no fruition.  
" You've been rather busy these days, Rumple. No sign of you. At a point, I was wondering if you were even alive." She purred, glee in her raven eyes.  
" I can assure you dearie that I have been caught up in matter of much more importance than you. Your pitiful revenge wasn't of much interest, considering you still haven't accomplished anything."  
" Were you busy looking for a new maid?" She retorted, completely ignoring Rumplestiltskin's remark on her failure in capturing her nemesis, Snow White.  
His face changed slightly, his true emotions visible only if one could know how to search beyond the layers of the beast. Regina was oblivious to it,as she was to many things. Revenge clouded her judgement, already tainted by darkness.  
" Your little deception failed, dearie. You will never be more powerful than me. Never were, never will. So I suggest, if you still want to have somebody to call for help, stop getting involved in my business." he sneered. How easy it would be to end her right at that moment, to end her wretched existence. However, he still needed her, as much as she needed him.  
" That girl I met on the road, the little princess? Remind me, from what poor, insignificant kingdom was she? The Court of Termites or Worms? Bookworms?" She was certainly enjoying the pathetic show she was putting on. Rumplestilskin, on the other hand, was getting annoyed with the Evil Queen. He would show no sign of weekness, not to her, not to anybody. Belle was safe now, back to her father, even though he knew he had broken her heart. But, at least, she was no longer trapped in a deal with a monster. She regained her chance at a future.  
" Although it would be a delight to turn you into a worm ready to be squashed, given your insolence, my curiosity gets the better of me. Any plans to finally defeat Snow White, your majesty? From what I can gather, things aren't quite going your way. Am I right?" The week spot of the conversation has shifted to the Queen. One could see how the wheels of her mind turned and turned, her revenge was consuming her.  
Before she could give any sort of reply, one of her soldiers burged in, then completely stopped dead in his tracks. Interrupting a conversation between the Evil Queen and the Dark One was at the very least a dangerous thing to do. As Rumplestilskin eyed him, he could see the little guard sweating. What a joy is to be feared!  
"Your majesty, he bowed, I didn't meant to intrude. But there is something that must come to your knowledge." He was almost composed, almost.  
"Despite your apologies, you still disturbed me. So might just as well spit it out. What so called important news do you have?"  
"The kingdom of Avalonlea has fallen. Nobody knows how, but the lords and Sir Maurice were found in a pool of blood. People say it was a massacre." Rumplestiltskin froze in his place, he went all pale, his blood was boiling. He could hardly contain the myriad of emotions that were plaguing him: fear, anguish, worry, utter rage.  
Still, it was the queen that spoke:  
" What did you say? How is that possible? Who could be behind the assasination? " Although his heart was stone, he could see that the Queen didn't know about this? It wasn't her doing. It became more concerning. Had he sent Belle to her own demise? He couldn't even process such a thought. He would go mad. It was one thing to give up on true love, but he could not survive if she were to be dead. Not when the world should have been at her fingertips. Not when she was so pure, so innocent and strong. Not when she didn't had the chance to become the hero she dreamt to be.  
"What about the princess?" inquired the queen. The Dark One still didn't dare to speak, afraid all his compusure would go away, the facade. He was still behind enemy lines. He could not be seen as week, as a person capable of anything other than evil deeds.  
" Princess Belle wasn't found in the castle. She was reported to have been in Avalonlea for weeks, but she wasn't among the corpses. Some say she managed to escape, run to the river and drowned. But those are rumors, your majesty. There is no trace of her, no evidence."  
Indeed, there was not. Rumplestilskin tried to channel his magic to sense her presence, somewhere in this world. But he found nothing. He couldn't remember how he managed to finish that meeting with the Queen. But when he winnowed back to the Dark Castle dispair overtook him. He tried every spell to find his true love, the one person who saw beyond the monster. There was nothing. Endless void. She was neither among the dead or the living. She was nowhere.  
The mystery of the violent downfall of Avalonlea's elite remained uncovered, as well as the disapperence of the princess. Some believed she died, others that she managed to escape and at some point that she would rise as the saviour of her fallen kingdom, reclaiming her throne. Only Rumplestilskin didn't know what to believe. He refused to believe that she had died. He wound go insane if he admitted she was truly gone. His plotting stopped, just as the Evil Queen's. He would still find his son, but right now it wasn't right, the world was shifting in a way it was beyond his control. And when the Dark One had lost control of the world, the change in its machinations could not be ignored.  
Little did the people of the realm of stories know that beyond the lush of the Dark Forest, beyond the sea enveloped in the dense swirling fog, resided the fae, cruel, immortal creatures, forged in divine fire. And little did they know, that among the fae folk was Belle, the princess of Avalonlea, the Dark One's true love, facing an earth- shattering truth.


End file.
